After Part 1 of our series, dealing with the reasons your customers are unsubscribing from your email blasts, you might start seeing a pattern emerge.
Frequency and relevancy are the top two reasons your customers are leaving not only your email list but also your Facebook page.
Strike a balance on your Facebook page between relevant news, information, and products. Typically, businesses fail in engaging a potential customer by over selling a product or service. Only do this if you desire bored and disenfranchised customers.
Facebook is a remarkable social media platform that connects your company to an incredible variety of markets and new customers.
Complaint: Too Many Postings!
This is a tricky customer complaint. Just like email blasts, there isn't a magic number of regular posts that make everyone happy, nor should you strive for it. What consumers are looking for is the right balance of a variety of posts at a non-annoying rate.
What your customers and supporters are "Liking" or commenting on is what your focus should be rather than blasting every tidbit of information you have.
Do they like a certain type of post over others, like touching customer stories or industry-related news? Then continue on that path.
The Fix #1: Listen to what your customers are following and commenting on.
The Fix #2: Post at a regular rate that seems to fit with your followers. There isn't a magic rate or formula you can input that will provide you with the ideal number of either.
The Fix #3: Post a variety of content, not just on how great your products are or why people should buy them. Diverse postings not only underscore your company mission without sacrificing sales but also show your customers that you're up on the industry news and trends.
The Fix #4: Become an industry expert; the source customers immediately turn to for up-to-date industry news, reviews, and product information.
Complaint: Too Many Product Pushes!
Again, much like too many posts, customers are complaining that when you do post, you only focus on your products.
When personal Facebook pages become littered with updates on the minute about your products, your friendly followers will quickly "dislike" anything that you do. If personal pages are more heavily weighed on the product side, than, say, what customers are doing, then you'll suffer a backlash.
Just like an over-producing friend on Facebook who posts about everything that happens in their life, your posts have less impact and ultimately become equally as annoying.
The Fix #1: Spend more time posting about relevant news rather than how awesome your products are. If you have a clever copywriter that produces witty and engaging content, then customers will not only be more interested in what you say but the products you offer.
The Fix #2: Never treat Facebook like a free advertising service, but more like your website. Post questions targeted at gaining meaningful feedback or provide thorough, well thought out content. Essentially, you get what you pay for.
Complaint: Postings Are Irrelevant!
Though it may seem that these complaints are closely tied, if you dig deeper, in fact, your customers are pretty much outlining what would make your social media strategy work.
If your customers don't have some sort of connection to what you're posting about, then all your work has essentially gone to waste.
Again, much like the content aspect, understanding what your customers are reading, liking and commenting on is critical to making your Facebook page a success.
Furthermore, having any sort of social media plan without some sort of overall strategy will show in how and what you post.
The Fix #1: Divvy up your postings into several different categories, setting different priority levels. Though challenging, try to look at your content from an objective point of view and include any customer feedback.
Clearly, your products should be near the bottom of this list. The point of Facebook is to start a dialogue.
The Fix #2: To further complicate matters, ensure that your content has a similar thread. Never compromise your integrity by commenting on the latest political news, say, unless that is your business, just to get comments.
Finally, just like email blasts, customers may have "Liked" your Facebook page just to get a chance at a special one-time deal. After that deal is over, so is your new customer.
